The Magic learned their lesson.
Last year, the Orlando Magic dropped some questionable games after showing fans that they were able to defeat the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics. Fans in Central Florida were left scratching their heads because the Magic were able to stand up to stiff competition but laid eggs against the bottom feeders.
Some people might call it a scheduled loss, but that sounds like an excuse when you have one of the best players in the league on your roster, and the team knew that it had to be better this season and win the games it’s supposed to win. The first challenge in this department was beating the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn features several capable NBA players but not much star power and is likely eyeing a high draft pick more than anything else.
Those are the games the Magic absolutely must win, and they cannot afford to forget that throughout the season.
After the win against the Nets, the Magic lost focus for a little bit. Paolo Banchero and the Magic are good enough to beat the Grizzlies but were not able to get the job done. It was the second night of a back-to-back for Orlando, and the team didn't have it against Memphis, turning the ball over too much.
This was a Memphis team that finally had their star player back on the court and it was also their season opener, so emotions were high. It was a bad loss for the Magic because many players have admitted that defense is the team’s identity, and the Grizzlies finished the game with 124 points. That is a number that the Magic’s defense should be offended by, especially when two bench players combined for 40 points (Santi Aldama (22) and Jay Huff (18)).
Fortunately, the Magic were able to bounce back quickly and beat the Indiana Pacers in a close game despite Franz Wagner and Jonathan Isaac dealing with an illness and injury.
The Magic’s schedule gets pretty scary after their matchup against the Chicago Bulls on October 30th. And although Halloween is the next day, the Magic shouldn't fear any team. To put it in context, the Magic‘s next games are on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Indiana Pacers. It is a daunting schedule on the road for the Magic, and we will learn just how good this team could potentially be in 2025.
The Magic cannot afford to drop all of these games and will be lucky to end the road trip 2-2. Most importantly, however, the Magic cannot afford to lose to some of the better teams in the league while also giving away games to teams they should beat.
That is the expectation for this team now: they just have to beat certain teams in the league while taking their game to the next level against others.
The players have to realize how important it is to remain focused, even when the other team isn't a top-10 team in the NBA. They have to find a way to motivate themselves when there isn't a marque name on the opposite roster. Right now, the Magic look like they learned their lesson from last year, beating the Brooklyn Nets last week. This is a team that the Magic dropped two games against last year, and those two losses would've had the Magic one win away from a 50-win season.
As of right now, it looks as if the team has matured from the lows of last season, and shouldn't take a bottom-feeder team for granted, considering how hard this upcoming road trip is.